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Abstract:

The invention relates to an air conditioning system for a vehicle,
comprising a heat exchanger (10) which can be penetrated by air and is
connected to a first air duct (12) and to at least one second air duct
(14) extending into zones (18, 20) that are to be air-conditioned. A
first fan (24) and the second fan (26) are designed for sucking in air
discharged from the heat exchanger (10) so as to deliver air to the zones
(18, 20) that are to be air-conditioned.

Claims:

1. An air-conditioning system for a vehicle, having a heat exchanger (10)
which can be traversed by air and which is connected to a first air duct
(12) and to at least one second air duct (14) which lead into regions to
be air-conditioned (18, 20) of the vehicle, characterized in that the
first air duct (12) is assigned a first fan (24) and the second air duct
(14) is assigned a second fan (26), with the first fan (24) and the
second fan (26) being designed to suck air emerging from the heat
exchanger (10) in order to supply air to the regions to be
air-conditioned (18, 20) of the vehicle.

2. The air-conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in
that the first fan (24) is arranged in an outlet region (30) of the first
air duct (32).

3. The air-conditioning system as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized
in that the second fan (26) is arranged in an outlet region (30) of the
second air duct (32).

4. The air-conditioning system as claimed in one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the heat exchanger (10) is assigned a further fan
(36).

5. The air-conditioning system as claimed in one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the air feed quantity of at least one of the fans
(24, 26, 36) can be regulated.

6. The air-conditioning system as claimed in one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the air feed quantity of the first fan (24) can be
regulated as a function of the temperature in the region to be
air-conditioned (18) of the vehicle into which the first air duct (12)
leads.

7. The air-conditioning system as claimed in one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the air feed quantity of the second fan (26) can be
regulated as a function of the temperature in the region to be
air-conditioned (20) of the vehicle into which the second air duct (14)
leads.

8. The air-conditioning system as claimed in one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the heat exchanger (10) is designed to supply heat
and/or cold to the air which flows through it.

9. The air-conditioning system as claimed in one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the region to be air-conditioned (18) into which
the first air duct (12) leads is structurally separate from the region to
be air-conditioned (20) into which the second air duct (14) leads.

Description:

[0001]The invention relates to an air-conditioning system for a vehicle,
having a heat exchanger which can be traversed by air and which is
connected to a first air duct and to at least one second air duct which
lead into regions to be air-conditioned of the vehicle.

[0002]An air-conditioning system of said type which is provided for a
motor vehicle is known for example from DE 195 39 517 A1 which shows the
typical construction of nowadays conventional air-conditioning systems.
Here, at least one heat exchanger is arranged on the discharge air side
of a fan which feeds the air which is to be supplied via a plurality of
air ducts to different regions of the vehicle interior space. The outlet
regions of at least some of the air ducts are conventionally provided
with devices with which the outflow of air can be completely or partially
prevented depending on the desire of the occupant to whom the respective
air outlet is assigned. If an air outlet is completely or partially
closed off by an occupant, this leads to the air fed by the central fan
being accumulated in the respective air duct.

[0003]A disadvantage of the known generic air-conditioning systems is that
the devices for partially or completely closing off the air outlets must
be of solid construction in order to be capable of completely or
partially preventing air from emerging despite the running fan. In
addition, the accumulation of air fed by the central fan caused by closed
air outlets leads to energy losses.

[0004]The object of the present invention is that of eliminating the
above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.

[0005]Said object is achieved by means of the features of claim 1.

[0006]Advantageous refinements and embodiments of the invention can be
gathered from the dependent claims.

[0007]The air-conditioning system according to the invention builds on the
generic prior art in that the first air duct is assigned a first fan and
the second air duct is assigned a second fan, with the first fan and the
second fan being designed to suck air emerging from the heat exchanger in
order to supply air to the regions to be air-conditioned of the vehicle.
Here, a vehicle is to be understood to mean all types of land- or
sea-going means of transport, in particular automobiles, camping vehicles
or boats. By means of the solution according to the invention, the air is
sucked by the respective fan through the heat exchanger. If a vehicle
occupant desires no supply or air, then the fan which is assigned to the
respective air duct can for example be simply shut off. An accumulation
of air can thereby be prevented. It is also possible to dispense with
devices with which the outflow of air can be completely or partially
prevented.

[0008]In preferred embodiments of the air-conditioning system according to
the invention, it is provided that the first fan is arranged in an outlet
region of the first air duct and that the second fan is arranged in an
outlet region of the second air duct. Said solution is particularly
advantageous firstly because there is usually more installation space
available for the fan in the outlet region and secondly because the fan
can be optimized for purely suction operation.

[0009]At least in some embodiments of the air-conditioning system
according to the invention, it can also be provided that the heat
exchanger is assigned a further fan. Said further fan is however
preferably provided less for pushing air through the system than for
supplying the heat exchanger with sufficient fresh air or air sucked in
from the interior space of the vehicle.

[0010]According to one advantageous refinement of the invention, it is
provided that the air feed quantity of at least one of the fans can be
regulated. In the simplest case, the regulation of the fan can take place
for example by means of a potentiometer which is to be operated by the
respective occupant.

[0011]It is however preferably provided that the air feed quantity of the
first fan can be regulated as a function of the temperature in the region
to be air-conditioned of the vehicle into which the first air duct leads
and that the air feed quantity of the second fan can be regulated as a
function of the temperature in the region to be air-conditioned of the
vehicle into which the second air duct leads. For this purpose, one or
more of the regions to be air-conditioned of the vehicle can be assigned
a temperature sensor which is connected to a controller which activates
the respective fan. It is therefore possible to form a plurality of
closed regulating circuits, with it being possible for the respective
occupant to predefine the respective nominal temperature for example by
means of an operating button.

[0012]It is preferably provided in the air-conditioning system according
to the invention that the heat exchanger is designed to supply heat
and/or cold to the air which flows through it. Here, the heat exchanger
can also be formed by a plurality of partial heat exchangers which are
arranged in parallel or in series and of which for example one partial
heat exchanger is provided to supply heat while another partial heat
exchanger is provided to supply cold.

[0013]The invention can be particularly advantageously used in cases in
which it is provided that the region to be air-conditioned into which the
first air duct leads is structurally separate from the region to be
air-conditioned into which the second air duct leads. For example, the
first air duct can be assigned to the front region of a vehicle interior
space while the second air duct can be assigned to the rear region of a
vehicle. In utility vehicles, it is for example possible for one air duct
to lead into the driver's cabin and one air duct to lead into the
sleeping cabin.

[0014]A core concept of the present invention is that of the air no longer
being pushed through the system, as is conventional, but rather being
sucked through the system.

[0015]A preferred embodiment of the air-conditioning system according to
the invention is explained by way of example below on the basis of the
drawing, in which:

[0016]FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the
air-conditioning system according to the invention.

[0017]The air-conditioning system illustrated has a compact
air-conditioning module 38 which comprises at least the essential
components which are required for conditioning the air. If the compact
air-conditioning module 38 is provided both for cooling and also for
heating, said components can comprise in particular a compressor, an
evaporator which can at least partially form the heat exchanger, and a
condenser. In addition, the heat exchanger can be at least partially
connected to the cooling circuit of the vehicle in order to heat the air
which is to be conditioned. Electrical heating devices are of course also
conceivable. As already mentioned, the term `heat exchanger` should also
in the present connection comprise solutions in which a plurality of
partial heat exchangers are provided. The compact air-conditioning module
38 has, in addition to the heat exchanger 10, an air distributor 40 to
which are connected a first air duct 12, a second air duct 14 and a third
air duct 16. The first air duct 12 leads to a first region to be
air-conditioned 18, the second air duct 14 leads to a second region to be
air-conditioned 20 and the third air duct 16 leads to a third region to
be air-conditioned 22. A first fan 24 is provided in the outlet region 30
of the first air duct 12, a second fan 26 is provided in the outlet
region 32 of the second air duct 14 and a third fan 28 is provided in the
outlet region 34 of the third air duct 16. Although not strictly
necessary in the context of the present invention, the compact
air-conditioning module 38 comprises a further fan 36 which is arranged
upstream of the heat exchanger 10 in order to supply the latter with
sufficient fresh air and/or recirculated air (air sucked in from the
interior space). The first region to be air-conditioned 18 is assigned a
first operating unit 44, the second region to be air-conditioned 20 is
assigned a second operating unit 46 and the third region to be
air-conditioned 22 is assigned a third operating unit 48. The first
operating unit 44 comprises a first operating button 50, with which the
nominal temperature for the first region to be air-conditioned 18 can be
predefined, a first display 56 on which the selected nominal temperature
is displayed, and a first temperature sensor 62 with which the
temperature in the first region to be air-conditioned 18 is measured. The
second operating unit 46 comprises a second operating button 52, with
which the nominal temperature for the second region to be air-conditioned
20 can be predefined, a second display 58 on which the selected nominal
temperature is displayed, and a second temperature sensor 64 with which
the temperature in the second region to be air-conditioned 20 is
measured. The third operating unit 48 comprises a third operating button
54, with which the nominal temperature for the third region to be
air-conditioned 22 can be predefined, a third display 60 on which the
selected nominal temperature is displayed, and a third temperature sensor
66 with which the temperature in the third region to be air-conditioned
22 is measured. In the illustrated embodiment, a central controller 42 is
provided which is connected by means of electrical lines (not
illustrated) to the operating units 44, 46, 48. The controller 42
regulates in particular the rotational speed of the fan 24, 26, 28 and
36, specifically as a function of the respective temperature nominal and
actual values. In addition, however, the controller 42 can also monitor
and/or activate further components of the air-conditioning system. It is
however likewise conceivable to provide a plurality of local controllers,
for example in such a way that each operating unit is assigned a
controller. In the embodiment illustrated, three temperature regulating
circuits which can be operated independently of one another are formed,
one for each region to be air-conditioned. On account of the fact that
the air is at least predominantly sucked through the system, no back
pressure or at least only a small back pressure is generated. In
addition, it is possible in the ideal case to dispense with devices with
which the outflow of air at the air outlets can be completely or
partially prevented. If such devices are nevertheless to be provided,
said devices can at least be of very simple construction.

[0018]The features of the invention disclosed in the above description, in
the drawings and in the claims can be essential to the realization of the
invention both individually and also in any desired combination.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0019]10 Heat exchanger [0020]12 First air duct [0021]14 Second air duct
[0022]16 Third air duct [0023]18 First region to be air-conditioned
[0024]20 Second region to be air-conditioned [0025]22 Third region to be
air-conditioned [0026]24 First fan [0027]26 Second fan [0028]28 Third fan
[0029]30 Outlet region of the first air duct [0030]32 Outlet region of
the second air duct [0031]34 Outlet region of the third air duct [0032]36
Further fan [0033]38 Compact air-conditioning module [0034]40 Air
distributor [0035]42 Controller [0036]44 First operating unit [0037]46
Second operating unit [0038]48 Third operating unit [0039]50 First
operating button [0040]52 Second operating button [0041]54 Third
operating button [0042]56 First display [0043]58 Second display [0044]60
Third display [0045]62 First temperature sensor [0046]64 Second
temperature sensor [0047]66 Third temperature sensor

Patent applications in class Heating and cooling of the same material

Patent applications in all subclasses Heating and cooling of the same material